Recipes from Fish Camp: Tabbuli

I mentioned before that I was going to post on the blog some of the most popular recipes from fish camp. In case you're wondering, "what's fish camp?," it's a week spent up North somewhere (this year, South Manistique Lake in Michigan's Upper Peninsula) with the extended family. Of course we fish (and eat the fish if they bite), but we also see the sights, hike and bike and walk and run, swim and sunbathe, play cards and chew the fat, and do lots of reading. (This is a given; almost every child in our family is born with a book in his or her hand; this summer my cousin's five-year-old ran out of his cabin naked except for the book he wanted to share with us.)

And, of course, we EAT. This year we had 26 people at camp, so that requires a lot of coordinating and cooking to make sure we have enough food for everyone. We take turns chipping in dishes for the evening meal, and have quite a spread. This recipe came from my Aunt Carole and was quickly devoured, nom nom nom nom. Was it because it was the end of the week and we were starved for something healthy after eating so many "homestyle" treats? I think it was just because this was extremely tasty.

Carole writes: "I'm fairly precise when measuring out the bulgur wheat, olive oil, lemon juice, and spices, but much less precise with the green onions, parsley, mint, tomatoes and garbanzos—sort of depends on the mood I'm in and how much of each ingredient I have on hand."

Tabbuli

1 cup bulgur wheat*

1 cup water
⅓ cup olive oil

¼ cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon each salt and ground allspice
1 cup chopped green onions (including tops)
¼ cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1 cup chopped parsley
½ cup cooked garbanzo beans
2 tomatoes, finely diced

Bring bulgur wheat and water to a boil in a covered pan. Immediately reduce heat and simmer covered for 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed; bulgur should still be crunchy. Turn bulgur into a bowl and mix in olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and allspice. Cool.

Add onions, mint, parsley, garbanzos, and tomatoes. Mix together lightly. Cover and chill for 1 hour or until next day.

Makes six servings. Per serving: 11 grams protein, 40 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 363 calories.

Adapted from Sunset Menus and Recipes for Vegetarian Cooking by the Editors of Sunset Books and Magazine, October 1981, page 20.

*Bulgur wheat is sometimes stocked with other whole grain products; you can usually find it at Whole Foods. Or buy Near East brand tabbuli mix, use the bulgur wheat portion and ditch their spices in favor of fresh ones.

Making up for lost time....

It's true what they say about your tastes changing as you get older—not just your preferences, but your actual sense of taste. I was a bit of a picky eater when I was a kid*, and even into my twenties I had a long list of fruits and veggies I didn't really care for. A few of those foods I now really enjoy, like spinach (raw), tomatoes, blueberries, honeydew melon, and onion (although I can't eat it raw). My biggest conversion, though, has been into an eater of strawberries.

When I was growing up, my folks kept a strawberry patch along with the huge garden on their property. There were many nights when we had strawberry shortcake for dinner: a tasty shortcake, warm from the oven, covered with crushed strawberries that had been lightly sweetened. I'd eat the shortcake happily, but avoided the strawberries, unless I could get some pulpless juice to put on one corner. I wasn't wild about the taste of strawberries, but I especially disliked the texture and would pick off any threads of berries that got caught on my shortcake.

Well, things are a bit different now. I learned to appreciate strawberries the way I learned to enjoy several other fruits: mixed in a fruit salad, or even dipped in chocolate. A few years ago we stayed at this wonderful B&B in Arizona and they served a delicious breakfast dish that was berries, yogurt, and granola. I liked it so much I started making it at home. I found other uses for strawberries, like making a tasty dessert with angel food cake, yogurt, whipped cream, and berries. When they got a little mushy, I'd freeze them and use them in smoothies. Take a can of fruit (peaches, pineapple, even pears), a big handful of frozen strawberries, and a little fruit juice, and you can blend up a tasty tasty extra big serving of fruit. (I'm not sure where rum falls on the food pyramid, but sometimes I add a little of that to the smoothie as well.)

So when my mom asked me to pick her strawberry patch while my folks were out of town, I said sure. Here's my share of today's haul, which I split with my cousin. I've got maybe 9 or 10 quarts of strawberries, and I'm going to have some with honeydew for my afternoon snack, berries and yogurt for breakfast, a few quarts to contribute to my TKD team ice cream social tomorrow, and some to freeze. In any case, I've still got quite a few more strawberries to eat to make up for the first 35 or so years of my life, when I didn't eat my share.

*My mom might take issue with the "a bit of" qualifier, but I was never as bad as some kids I've met who wouldn't eat macaroni and cheese because the pasta was the "wrong shape." I just knew what I didn't like, and that list included quite a few things.